Where should I eat in London?
- Thread starter Melchior
- Start date
Frocks is good- as are the pizzas at The Lauriston pub on the same road...
There's also a hidden away little place called the Thai Room at Bow Wharf- where the big Fitness First gym is (I'm horrible with road names, but if you go up and around to the left from Frocks you'll eventually come to a roundabout- it's off that), you go under this arch, past a kid's playground and this big place called the Fat Cat Cafe or something and it's right there on your left. Or just walk up the canal from Victoria Park and approach it from the other way. It's a bit pricey there most nights but they do a more affordable Sunday buffet, and the people that run it are really lovely...
mistersloane
heavy heavy monster sound
Oh god the Kastoori, thirded as the absolute best place to eat Indian - or any type - of food in London, oh my god what a place. The tomato curry and, if you're there on the day they do it, the baked banana curry is just the bomb.
I went to Zaika - http://www.zaika-restaurant.co.uk/menu.html
kinda michelin type Indian in Kensington - recently and the gourmand menu was a work of fucking art. Well worth a trip if you know anyone with an expense account
Good question. I was a devotee of caff called Butts at the Smithfield end of St John Street.
They always had a cold rib of beef, a ham on the bone and a turkey to carve cold cuts from.
Sensational home-chipped chips, good black pud.
What a caff!
Of course it's gone; replaced by a faceless coffee shop.
Anyone else remember Butts?
i def would not call that Thai spot "great", i would say dead average is more like it, at least by nyc standards... tho, i did appriciate the decent beer selection...
and yes, those bagel/salt beef spots at the end of Brick Lane are pretty great and damn affortable for london food...
there's an eel shop about a 5 minute walk from Camden Market that is decent... it's down the street from (i think) a Tesco... (i actually ended up copping pre-made sandwhiches from tesco and boots quite a bit last time i was in london, as i knew it would be decent enough and quite cheap and for me as an american, a chicken tikka sandwhich on brown bread counts as exotic eating...)
the Stockpot in Soho is a good cheap spot to eat... nothing amazing, but you can count on a decent meal w/o breaking your budget if you are in that area...
jenks
thread death
There is a phenomenal cake shop just down the road from the Stockpot - not necessarily cheap but amongst the finest patisserie eating experiences I have had in this country. And the woman who runs it is absolutely delightful too - it's called Madame Something and I noticed they have a stall at Borough Market on a Saturday as well. (and still didn't think to memorise the name)
Tas Pide - just round the corner from Tate Modern/Globe is also well worth a go. Turkish, superb service and the kind of place where they bring you something extra for nothing just because.
If you are further West there is a very good Iranian on the Warwick Road - Mohsen which I would suggest could possibly rival Patogh over on Crawford Place (next to Edgeware Road) - both do good lamb Kebabs and amazing flatbreads the size of your table.
Tayabs is a must and i agree that unless you know where you're going then don't even bother with Brick Lane - instead go to The India Club on The Strand - just look for the sign for the Strand Continental Hotel, head upstairs, quell fears that jenks has sold you a pup and stop when you reach the top floor - all formica tables and pictures of Mountbatten but proper indian food. It's where i always take vegetarians who don't like japaneses food. Lovely dosas.
Tas Pide - just round the corner from Tate Modern/Globe is also well worth a go. Turkish, superb service and the kind of place where they bring you something extra for nothing just because.
If you are further West there is a very good Iranian on the Warwick Road - Mohsen which I would suggest could possibly rival Patogh over on Crawford Place (next to Edgeware Road) - both do good lamb Kebabs and amazing flatbreads the size of your table.
Tayabs is a must and i agree that unless you know where you're going then don't even bother with Brick Lane - instead go to The India Club on The Strand - just look for the sign for the Strand Continental Hotel, head upstairs, quell fears that jenks has sold you a pup and stop when you reach the top floor - all formica tables and pictures of Mountbatten but proper indian food. It's where i always take vegetarians who don't like japaneses food. Lovely dosas.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Well I've always enjoyed the food there, though I liked the traditional decor better in the old place, before they moved round the corner.
I've had Thai food in America (Chicago), it was quite different from what I've had in the UK but still nice.
Once I had what amounted to strips of rare roast beef on a mound of mashed potato, not very Thai I thought, but still tasty.
Kastoori didn't rock my world like i had hoped. Had the taste bombs - a bit too wierdly lemony or something. And had the set meal thing with like three currys rice and chipatties which was cool but not amazing.... i think........ i wasn't very hungry that eve so who knows. sorry to be a downer.
mistersloane
heavy heavy monster sound
*marches jahtao back to Kastoori and rubs nose in tomato curry*
john eden
male pale and stale
Just seen this - I think Yum Yum's has fallen off a bit since it moved round the corner onto the High Street. Food is not quite as good (tho still nice) but the decor is seriously poshed up and I think you are paying for that. It's nice for special occasions I guess...
For my money I would plump for the Thai Cafe on Northwold Road - two minutes away. Cheap and cheerful.
Aw - shame we couldn't meet up, Melchior!
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mistersloane
heavy heavy monster sound
I'd also put in a mention for Angeles on Kilburn High Road, it's proper, real Szechuan food, it has two entrances, one is a cheap n cheerful normal Cantonese buffet, but the other side ( the right ) is a Szechuan restaurant, you have to ask for the Szechuan menu if you look western. The food is fucking out of this world and if you haven't been to China and want a taste of what people eat in some provinces, going there is a must. Order three dishes - two meat and one veg - or just ask them for recommendations. They'll warn you that it's really spicy. It is ))
))
N
nomadologist
Guest
thai food in ny is one of the reasons i won't leave this city if it kills me
viktorvaughn
Well-known member
I'm slowly working my way through low/mid-price places...
Anyone have any more?
Tayyabs is unbelievable if you have not eaten there. The best curry house I have ever been to in the UK I think. The lamb chops are amazing.
Anyone have any more?
Tayyabs is unbelievable if you have not eaten there. The best curry house I have ever been to in the UK I think. The lamb chops are amazing.
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
isnt that just a joke off peep show
"Four naan, Jeremy? That's INSANE."
How about Somine, on Kingsland Road near Dalston stn? Brilliant main course, bread, pickles and pudding for £6. Must try Mangal Ocakbasi next time I'm that way - had a look last night but decided to go with what I know. Seems I was wrong.
Adulis on Brixton Road for quality Eritrean (mentioned on another thread too, I think).
Estrela in Vauxhall does cheap and cheerful Portuguese, as well as being one of the nicest cafes in the city.
Rasa's always a good bet.
Little Bay's 'opera' branch in Wandsworth is utterly fantastic...
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
Hate to be a downer, but Tayyabs...was rather mediocre.
OK, so it didn't help that we had absolute cunts sitting either side of us in the cramped restaurant, who seemed to think that raising their voices was a signal of sexual prowess. But, to be honest, the cuisine lived down to my worst fear about Indian restaurant food - using excess chili in order to disguise the fact that the food isn't actually that flavoursome. The lamb chops were fine, but, IMHO, nothing to rave about. Everything else was better than your bog-standard curry house, but (I know it's a different cuisine, but...) not in the same universe as somewhere like Rasa.
Best curry I've ever had in the UK was from the van that used to operate at lunchtimes on Lower Marsh at Waterloo (for anyone who ever worked there). The two women who ran it took a shop on Lower Marsh for a while, but, when I last checked, it seemed to have closed up. A real tragedy, 'cos their curries (chili as optional extra rather than ubiquitous taste-obliterator) were legendary....
Anyone know where they might be now? :slanted:
OK, so it didn't help that we had absolute cunts sitting either side of us in the cramped restaurant, who seemed to think that raising their voices was a signal of sexual prowess. But, to be honest, the cuisine lived down to my worst fear about Indian restaurant food - using excess chili in order to disguise the fact that the food isn't actually that flavoursome. The lamb chops were fine, but, IMHO, nothing to rave about. Everything else was better than your bog-standard curry house, but (I know it's a different cuisine, but...) not in the same universe as somewhere like Rasa.
Best curry I've ever had in the UK was from the van that used to operate at lunchtimes on Lower Marsh at Waterloo (for anyone who ever worked there). The two women who ran it took a shop on Lower Marsh for a while, but, when I last checked, it seemed to have closed up. A real tragedy, 'cos their curries (chili as optional extra rather than ubiquitous taste-obliterator) were legendary....
Anyone know where they might be now? :slanted:
viktorvaughn
Well-known member
I ate at the Mangal Ocakbasi 1 last night - phenomenal! I had the mixed grill with quails for 13£ and it was this incredible pile of succulent char-grilled meat with a lovely fresh salad and pickles and decent bread. It was better than the Mangal Ocakbasi 2 which is on Kingsland Road proper and is the one that Gilbert and George eat in every night at 8pm. 1 is more of a proper grill joint where you order at the counter; 2 is more of a sit down restaurant, though the food is of course fairly similar. They also have a Mangal Pide place further up the road but I have not eaten there. Will check out Somine.
Hmm, shame you didn't enjoy Tayyabs more! When I ate there is was tons better than the rubbish I have had a couple of times on Brick Lane which tasted like cheap microwave meals. I didn't find it overly-hot either, might have just struck lucky. Is Rasa the one on Church St?